Henrietta Town Board considers zoning restrictions on AI data centers as NY implements moratorium

The Henrietta Town Board in New York is actively discussing the implementation of new zoning restrictions for AI data centers within the town. This initiative comes a week after New York State, led by Governor Kathy Hochul, enacted a one-year moratorium on environmental permits for new hyperscale data centers. The state moratorium aims to allow regulators time to develop rules addressing environmental impacts, energy demand, and water usage, while also providing smaller municipalities with time to prepare for negotiations with tech companies.

Hendrietta Town Supervisor Steve Schultz emphasized a proactive approach, stating there are currently no applications for data centers in Henrietta, but someone had inquired about a year ago. Schultz aims for any potential data centers to be subject to incentive zoning, requiring them to demonstrate clear benefits to the town, such as improved power availability or job creation, to outweigh potential drawbacks.

During the town board meeting, residents voiced significant opposition. Elizabeth Grunnet articulated concerns about the strain on electricity and water resources, as well as potential light and sound pollution, describing Henrietta as a 'quiet, rural place.' No attendees spoke in favor of data center development on camera. The report also noted that, according to data centers.com, New York State already hosts over 200 data centers, with eight in the Rochester area, and Governor Hochul's moratorium specifically targets hyperscale data centers with over 5,000 servers. Separately, the international cloud-based tech business Megazone Corporation is establishing its US headquarters in the nearby town of Perinton, supported by over $1 million in state tax credits.